Exterior Update starts this Weekend......

a lot has changed in design since we painted the exterior of our house 10 years ago. great new color options make it harder to decide what to select. i knew i wanted something different and darker than the colors we have now, but wasn't sure where to start. there are as many elements in an exterior to consider as there are in an interior. 

 

like the first steps of an interior redo, choosing an inspiration piece or picture is a wonderful way to help keep you on track. and it doesn't need to be a picture of the outside of another house. 


the inspiration for me? this amazing Multi Pixel Pouf from +West Elm .  

i love the dark tones, the texture and the unexpected color pairings.  

 

i decided to pull the darker color and use it as the body of our house. after several trips to Home Depot and several missed paint tries, we landed on Glidden's Forest Black.

we will use the saffron color for some limited trim accents, the yellow for pillows and maybe our new barn lights from Lowe's, and the blue for pots and pillows.

 

Bring on the Weekend!

 

 

 





 

 

 

 

Sumptuous Succulents!

on TREND: the Sumptuous Succulent!

living in Arizona for the last 24 years, i have become accustomed to the beauty of the desert and seeing succulents on a daily basis. i am thrilled that their simple, architectural  and graphic patterns are popping up everywhere.

i recently posted a pic on facebook and called it a cactus. i was reminded by a friend that it was a succulent. 

so, what is the difference between a succulent and a cactus?

succulent

[suhk-yuh-luh nt] /ˈsʌk yə lənt/ 

 adjective 

1. full of juice; juicy.

2. rich in desirable qualities.

3. affording mental nourishment.

4. (of a plant) having fleshy and juicy tissues.

noun 

5. a succulent plant, as a sedum or cactus.

 

 

cactus

[kak-tuh s] /ˈkæk təs/ 

   noun, plural cacti

[kak-tahy]

cactuses, cactus.

1. any of numerous succulent plants of the family Cactaceae, of warm, arid regions of the New World, having fleshy, leafless, usually spiny stems, and typically having solitary, showy flowers.

 

this beautiful shot is from the instagram page of  @westelm. reminds me of our wedding centerpieces in 2003. we used metal containers and stuffed them full of succulents. all of them ended up going home with our guests!

 

 



this lovely tray display is the work of @Em_Henderson for @targetstyle.

 

 

 

 

a local creation from Camelback Flowershop in AZ taken from @pbteen_kierland.

 

 

 

 

this gorgeous combination of wood, moss and succulents is the amazing work of @paprikasouthern.

 

 

 

did you know that you can easily add to your succulent garden? these easy directions from @westelm.

 

 

i LOVE pink! always have, always will. especially soft pink. with Valentine's Day right around the color, i have been saving pics of the color i LOVE.

from @handmadecharlotte

from @rennaihoefer

from @surburbanbitches

from +Lauren Conrad 

from @cottoncandydollies

{Teen Girl's Bedroom - Peacock Inspiration}

i LOVE ideas.  i LOVE the idea of ideas. i was talking with a friend and learned that she is working on her teen girl's bedroom. the inspiration piece: a PEACOCK pattern shaded lamp.  made me run to my computer and start pinning away....

https://www.pinterest.com/swsdesignideas/teen-girl-bedroom-purple-blues-green-yellow/

{Teen Girl Bedroom} purple, blues, green & yellow

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Green is my favorite color. Especially Girl Scout GREEN!

this is my 7th year of volunteering for an organization that i love.  Girl Scouts.   it started off as a just a meeting i attended because a friend could not.  by the end of the meeting, i was in. january in AZ means cookie sales time.  it's a lot of work, but we always have fun. it's also a way for me to create a little.  or a lot.

these girls! they decided on a theme for their cookie booths:  a Pajama Party to celebrate the SAMOA'S 40th Birthday! 

the inspiration: take last year's green and burlap and update it to coordinate with the SAMOA'S 40th Birthday, this year's purple cookie t-shirt, and the white pajama pants with black dots that the girls picked out to wear. one trip to WalMart, some digging through my supply stashes and i got all i needed! 
COLORS: green, purple, black, white and burlap/natural.....

don't eat cookies? donate them.  this year the girls decided that they would work with a amazing organization, Ryan House. called the Gift of Caring, people may purchase boxes of cookies that count towards the girls' goals, but the actual cookies go to Ryan House.  i made a tag from leftover scrapbook paper, used stick-on letters we had sitting around, and added my WalMart ribbon to a Dollar Tree gift bag.  now, whenever they get a cookie box donation, it will go in the Birthday Bag!

layering the green dot and black chevron ribbon, i added a stretch of twine.  things always look better in 3's, so the twine added the final element i was looking for. tied on the Birthday Tag to the Bag, and hot glued it all for stability.  SO FUN!

this small burlap "canvas" is a steal at WalMart.  i want to say they are $3.47 for 2??  the green dot ribbon was from last year, so i added a purple burlap flower also from WalMart.  leftover scrapbook paper and the same stick-on letters make it fun and informative.

who doesn't LOVE a good pennant banner?? our co-leader crafted it last year... burlap on chipboard, strung with twine, she used a cotton swab to write "COOKIES" on it with black paint. i added the green dot ribbon and another purple burlap flower and VIOLA!! paper hat and green sampling tray from Dollar Tree.

cookie booths are a blast! sometimes they are busy and sometimes they are slllowwwww. either way, we always walk away with some great memories.  mine will always be of these bright, energetic, lovely young women. 

wow..... it's been a while.  and for good reason.  my stupid health.  when i started this blog in July of 2014, i was not feeling so well. and it got worse and now i hope it's getting better, for good.  today i decided that i need to CREATE.  it's a bigger feeling than i can explain.  more like a need. it helps my brain to CREATE and it heals my heart.  so, let's get busy.....

saturday, exhausted and frail, i couldn't imagine my hubby and our daughter going to Target without me.  who can resist a Target run?? and then you find $12 sheets for your baby, help her put together a birthday gift based on a theme she came up with ("cozy time") and it reinforces your destiny and the desire to get out and get going. 

A beautiful link from Bali Blinds Blog

10 creative ways to use bamboo in your house, on Bali Blinds: http://bit.ly/1pSMlnH

10 Creative Ways to Decorate with Bamboo | Bali Blinds Blog

blog.baliblinds.com

Bamboo is a great material for decorating. It’s renewable so it’s very environmentally friendly. In fact it grows more than three feet in one day (the fastest growing plant in the world!).